I was on an old ship that used steam coils for the dryer heat. You had to watch it or it would get too hot. While great for drying clothes fast it was hell on anything elastic. Nothing like having your socks fall to your ankles or using suspenders to keep your underwear up.
How about on the handrail in the fidley? Have to use a porta-power to take the fold out.
2 Likes
which country has 220 60 hz single phase?
Note that utility voltage is ānominalā it may vary by plus or minus 5 percent.
TUG sailor remembers wringer washers aboard? I donāt have much time but thot iād straighten you all out. First off, stick with a top loader with no elaborate electronics other than the dial timer. 2nd, install the heavy duty springs so itāll withstand rolling (and out of balance loads), there are a couple other modifications but I donāt recall anymore. and farthermore: keep one in the engine room for you and yours !! (where you can also use hot water when you shut everyone elses off !! ha haahaha
2 Likes
On a couple of tugs & a seismic vessel I seen Capts/CEās cut the male ends off of the power cords for the washers & install a female outlet end instead. Then they used a similar double male adapter shown below to power it up. When it got too rough the Capt/CE would remove the double male adapter preventing anyone from using the machines until it calmed down.
Holy shit, thatās an ugly hack. I can imagine at least a few ways it could go horribly wrong, in which case the persons responsible would be hard pressed for an explanation. There must be better waysā¦ If the budget wonāt stretch to a key switch on the outlet, how about just using a non-standard M-F adapter?
Iāve made one or two M-M adapters for various purposes (such as powering an abandoned house off a portable genny), but always cut them up as soon as we were done. Using one permanently wouldnāt cross my mind, least of all in a well grounded compartment that may be subject to motion.
1 Like
Yep, I never partaked in the power cord of death practice. The captains on that seismic vessel werenāt that smart & neither were the seismic crew. Iām surprised no one was killed. I have locked out breakers for the laundry using a LOTO kits though. All 3 times I seen the double male adapters on board was pre-2002. I hope no one is still using that type of set up to prevent washers breaking during bad weather.
1 Like
I always just shut the power off to the wash room, and tagged it if necessary !!!
1 Like
Worked with a fellow that was a Chief Machinist Mate in USN. He said that the large washers on some ships had brake drums for stopping and they wore out. Replacement costs were on the level of a $600 Air Force toilet seat. When they came to port he sent sailors to auto wrecking yards for Ford pickup drums the same part on the washers. Paid $10.
Smart guy! Later was Head Chief at Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco.
1 Like
maybe in the navy he got kudos for the effort but in my govt. experience not much !!!
Had a crewman wire up an extension cord like that. His nickname was Opium, a slow working dope. Someone mercifully prevented Darwinian extinction, probably a waste of oxygen.
1 Like
Most of the crew knew better in weather, but every now and then the chief would put a small piece of duct tape on the lid.
On a Landing Craft used to run supplies to the swamp rigs and gas fields in the Mahakam Delta, E Kalimantan, Indonesia, the washing machine was plugged into an ordinary household socket with two bare wire ends, held in place with wooden toothpicks. No earthing.
When I pointed out that this was very dangerous the Ch. Engineer just shrugged and said: ābut if worksā.
1 Like
A good and safe method to prevent unauthorized use of equipment, including a washing machine, is to install circuit breakers which are secured by either a key or a padlock.
Iām going try ordering a new set of Meile washer dryers and see what happens. They are the most expensive brand, but cheaper than air freight to the middle of nowhere. Maybe they will buy them, or maybe Iāll get fired for having champagne tastes at company on a beer budget.
1 Like
The quote about champagne tastes was first heard when I looked for property in Florida many years ago. My second chuckle of the day. I hope they send you what you ordered, a good choice.
Ok. The Miele uses liquid soap and softener but can also use powder soap. The dryer works well disconnected from a drain but you have to empty the water container that gets full at about two loads of laundry or so (for my model) with distilled water.
I donāt know how the soap would behave, if itās sloshing around when the ship ā¦hits turbulence(?)ā¦
Go for it, theyāre one of the few brands that still seem to have a sense of honor.
1 Like
Learned an interesting thing about a modern Bosch washing machine aboard one yacht, and ran into the same thing on another. I was supremely bored and with absolutely nothing to do, so I read the Bosch washing machine manual. It stressed, very emphatically, that chlorine bleach was not to be used in the machine! I donāt know exactly why, but I do know that if you put half a swimming pool chlorine tablet in the raw water strainer for the AC plant once a week; that the bronze impeller in the raw water pump will cease to move water after awhile. The impeller will end up looking like that Mexican lacy fried cheese 
Probably a good idea to read the manual on household gear before selection, Iāve learned.
Kidding about being bored, though. I wanted to review any maintenance that could be performed and also check the installation of the laundry gear so that fires and floods may be prevented.